The Upstarts: Entrench

 

 

SWITCH TO POLISH

Ouch... I was hesitating a lot about how to classify this post. On one hand, Swedish Entrench started long after the end of golden era, namely 2005, and their debut happened in 2011. On the other hand, 2005 was basically 20 years ago, and the band seemingly disbanded. As such, they're hardly rookies.

But one decisive factor waged my hand - no matter how we look at it, when Bolt Thrower had released "Realm of Chaos", some of the members weren't even alive, while others were learning how to walk. Because of that, today's post will not be an Anatomy of Sweden, but rather a long-time-no-see part of the series dedicated to the younger generation. Indeed, I have sophisticated dilemmas.

I must admit that the reason it's important for me is due to the fact, that I'm not really keen on listening to another wannabe band, who only wants to copy riff by riff of their idols, instead of simply being themselves. Thankfully, in case of Entrench one can speak of some personality.

And it's not easy task to classify them. I would sa that just like Kaamos, or Tribulation were the heralds of the new wave of Swedish Death Metal, so was Entrench an early example of the mindset focusing on unearthing the roots of all things extreme. To paraphrase, let's try "Beethoven on Speed"... and then let's see where we can go from there. Since their third (and final) album - "Through the Walls of Flesh" (2017), has passed 8 years (see? I can count). During this near-decade, similar bands had gradually emerged, beside the Polish Sexmag (recommended), with majority of them coming from South America, like Evilcult, Hellion, or just Mayhemic.

What is this trend basically? Well, it's a melting pot of various Necro Metal ingredients, like War, Speed (not the singin' kind), Thrash, Death, Black, in the mid-tempo, leaning towards fast, but punkish rhythm. And I could very well end my post here, but no, you're not going to be this lucky and leave. Nope.

I'm not quite sure how to call it, but the band is capable of playing edgy, predatory, aggressive, early Thrash, with a production being dirty-raw, far from your typical modern clear sound, and yet, at the same time having organic tone, done selectively, with audible melodies. The opener, an epic, near 9-minute, "The Coming Storm / Dawn of War", is quite impressive, as it has it all - main theme, beautiful solos, many turns, sections logically following each other, and whatever you want else. Personally, I'm not a fan of long tracks, therefore I have to applaud the band even moreso, as rarely one can find such properly structured composition, not unlike what early Metallica or Slayer did. Pure symphony of Thrash in the best way possible.

In other words, the trick is that the initial chaos coming from the stereo actually turns out to be a quite mature material. There are only 7 tracks, and interestingly enough, the final one, just like the first one, is also over 8 minutes long, but this time it fittingly fulfills the function of an epilogue. The other pieces are kept in a steady, continuous momentum, but with different shades and tasty bits, with "Dead End" being my favorite, albeit it's not easy to find one, as overall the album feels balanced. Of course, malcontents will never be happy, and who knows, they might be bored with that.

But if someone has a good taste, then they will appreciate such accomplished tribute for the Death / Thrash relics, like old Sepultura, or Morbid Angel. And sure, I do try to somehow compare Entrench to something recognizable, but it's only a hint from my side, as the crew plays their music in their own way. To be quite frank, I think that every person will hear their own favorite band in the presented sound. But the most important thing, is the urge to replay the CD after it ends. And isn't it exactly the point?

So yeah, pure entertainment for the lovers of Extreme Thrash.